Book 1: Invasion
by Professor Oswin
Summary: Animorphs Reboot. A group of kids have what appears to be a chance encounter with an alien. Being told that they're not alone in the universe isnt a surprise, but being told that there is an invasion in the process to take their planet, they decide to do everything in their power to protect it.
1. Summary

**Invasion**

A group of kids have what appears to be a chance encounter with an alien. Being told that they're not alone in the universe isn't a surprise as there have been biomech incidents around the world. But being told that there is an invasion in the process to take their planet, they decide to do everything in their power to protect it. Even if they don't think they're up to the job.

Hello everybody. I'm a big fan of the series and wanted to see this play out in the modern world. There's actually a great series that is doing that in archive of our own. So I guess I can say that it was an inspiration. But mine is going to be slightly different.

For one, I'm using the appearance of the Animorphs from the television series. Mostly because I love Shawn Ashmore and his brother. And I'm also adding an OC to the mix because I want to explore a new dynamic.

There is also the tiny fact that I've added a new element to the story in general.

 **Changelogs**

 _April 7, 2018-_

Fixed some punctuation errors from chapters 1 and 2.

Junior to Senior.


	2. Chapter 1

I tensed as the mothership appeared out of nowhere. My hands began to shake as I started shooting at it. The screencast a green glow on my face as it began to build a charge up. The laser shot out of it and ate a ship that was next to me, destroying it. Dread filled me as I knew what was going to happen now. The green glow came up again and this time it was aimed at me. I closed my eyes accepting my fate as the light grew more intense closing up on me.

 **Game over**

The game read the final screen. I took off the virtual reality headset. This was the last time I would be playing the rage inducing game. Now I knew why a lot of people hated the virtual reality headset for gaming. You couldn't focus on anything. The visuals moved too much, just a little nudge caused the viewing screen to move to a completely undesired area.

Okay, so I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Daniel. I'm a Senior in High School and tonight was a school night. But I came to the mall to play the new game for virtual reality like I did every time I was bored. I would've stayed a bit longer, but I was out of money. I wasn't dirt poor but I wasted all the money that I set for tonight.

I guess you could say that I'm a bit of a neat freak. Everything that I had was always organized. Except for my bedroom. But not the point.

Some kids were arguing somewhere in the Gamestop store. They sounded familiar so I decided to check who it was.

The place was crowded with a bunch of shoppers that came to buy the new game which made it difficult to navigate to the source of the familiarity. But I somehow managed to push through and arrive at another virtual console. This one was occupied by some school friends that I knew.

I noticed that the game that they were playing was the same one that I was playing earlier. So Jake was the one who I saw get destroyed first.

"I told you to shoot at its weak spot!"

"What weak spot? It didn't have a weak spot! And in case you didn't notice, none of the other guys thought so either," Jake shot back.

"Hey, guys. I thought you both worked tonight," I finally interrupted.

They both turned to me suddenly taking in my existence.

"Daniel! Good to see you," Marco, Jake's friend, gave me a hug.

"We actually had tonight off. Though we have to work tomorrow after school," Jake answered.

We were really good friends. Jake, Marco and I. But we rarely hung out. I was usually too busy with work too or hanging out with my girlfriend. We also usually hang out another kid, Tobias, shy chap if I do say so. The kid really didn't have anyone else to hang out with. Other kids usually either bullied him or just pretended that he didn't even exist. Jake helped him out though when it came to bullies. That's how he is. Jake is one of the good guys.

I found myself to have more in common with Marco though. Both of us were jokesters. We used comedy to lighten the mood whenever possible. Which was always, apparently. We also came from Latin families. So we knew what it was like to be outsiders. That's where the difference ended. I am not the most popular. I didn't have the best self-esteem either. And with this being my last year of high school, I wasn't in the best place currently. I used video games as a means to escape my reality whenever I wasn't with Melissa. That's why I usually ended up here at the mall. Though I also came to the mall at the insistence of Melissa to go shopping.

"I was actually heading out already since I'm out of money. And today's a school night so we really shouldn't be around for much longer." Jake nodded in agreement much to Marco's disappointment.

"Can't we just play one more game?" he pleaded.

"Marco, we need the rest for tomorrow. We have the SAT exams to take," Jake reasoned.

That's what I liked about Jake. He's smart and reasonable. He reminded me much of the leaders in the books I used to read.

"Fine," Marco finally relented.

"Where's Tobias? I thought I saw his username in the game," I asked as we started leaving the store.

At the mention of his name, Tobias came running out after us.

"Hey, guys. How's it going?" we greeted each other.

"I knew I saw your username in the game," I commented triumphantly.

"Yeah. I actually beat the game for you guys," Tobias ran his hand through his hair awkwardly.

"You did?!" Marco's eyes nearly bugged out.

"Yeah. After you guys logged out, I figured out the weak spot in the mother ship and fired on it. It was a tiny hitbox, but it was manageable with the photons. For a mothership, it sure had very low health," he chuckled.

I noticed that Jake was distracted during the whole exchange. His eyes were focused on one of the stores near the exit. I looked at the direction he was looking at and noticed that he was actually staring at Rachel and Cassie as they were leaving Macy's. I quietly laughed at his goo-goo eyes.

Everyone knew that he had a major crush on Cassie. Even Cassie herself. But Jake doesn't really know that or has the courage to tell her himself.

As we passed them he suddenly blurted out, "Hey girls. We're actually going to leave right now so why don't you guys come so that we can protect you from what's out there?" I inwardly cringed at his offer.

I knew that Rachel wouldn't like the comment. If the term looks can be deceiving could be given an image, then Rachel would be that image. At first glance, you'd think that she was just another pretty face. She was beautiful, yes. But she was more than that. She had this natural fierceness to her.

"What are you saying, cousin? That just because we're girls we can't take care of ourselves in the night?" though she was genuinely mad, she was also teasing Jake since she also knew that he had a crush on her best friend.

"Uh, no. I meant uh," Marco, Tobias and I were trying to stifle our enjoyment at Jake's fluster.

"Actually, Rachel. I don't know about you, but I think there's a safety in numbers. After all, not all of us can be as strong and brave as you," that was Cassie, she always knew how to defuse a situation properly.

"Fine. I guess," Rachel relented.

"Besides. You know you like a Knight in Shining armour," I winked at Rachel.

She punched me on the arm, hard.

"My best friend is your girlfriend. So watch it, Mister," everyone laughed as she glared at me.

That's how we usually acted when we were together. Like little kids playfully doing things to each other. Little did we know that this would be the last time we ever did something normal together again. This night was the night that everything would change. Our perception of the world and our fight for survival would change from a worry about school to the survival of our species.


	3. Chapter 2

"So, how's it going with Melissa?" Rachel asked me.

We were in Jake's car driving home on the freeway. Tobias and Marco sat in the middle talking about some family situations while Cassie sat in front with Jake trying to keep him focused on the road. Rachel and I sat all the way in the back of the van though. The radio was set on MyFM on low sound. So things were pretty calm right now. Save for the occasional speeding car.

"Things are good I guess."

"What's wrong? I know something's wrong. She's stopped talking to me lately and I want to know why. And you're the only person with her right now that can tell me."

"It's her parents. She feels like they don't care about her anymore. They rarely give her any attention anymore and with the university accepting her, she feels as if leaving would be best for her right now. She's even talked about seeing other people," It was true, Melissa had mentioned breaking up with me but I'll try and be there for her for as long as I could.

"I wish I could say that I can convince her to stay with you, but she won't talk to me right now. You're a good man Daniel. She's lucky to have you," Rachel smiled.

A loud pop rang out followed by the sound of burning tired and the violent shaking of the van as it swerved to a stop. Everyone lurched forward as the van crashed into a ditch. I shot my hand in front of Rachel to stop her from being launched to the front. My face flushed as my arm could feel her chest try to push past me.

"That's why you should wear a seat-belt Rache," I said out of breath.

"Thanks. Now get your hand off me," she growled as she pushed my hand away.

"Is everyone okay?" I heard Jake's voice.

Dust floated around in the air smothering my sight. I could barely make out the outlines of Marco and Jake as they moved around. Jake opened his door as he coughed turning on the lights inside. The dust became illuminated and gave off a white glow.

"Rachel! Are you okay?" Cassie's impatience made her repeat the question -this time only to one person- before anyone could answer.

"Yeah. I'm fine Cassie. Thanks to Danny."

"Everyone. Out! We need to get out of the van," Jake ordered.

Marco and Tobias opened their sliding doors to get out and turned back to move the seats out of the way for Rachel and me. Dust and smoke spilt out after us and floated into the night sky. The dead light post on the road flickered to life-giving us permission to see. Jake rushed to the other side to help Cassie out while Marco began to investigate the problem.

"My mom is so gonna kill me," Jake groaned once the gravity of the situation lessened.

"Jake, I think I found the problem," Marco held up a piece of metal that he found stuck in the tire.

"Tobias, you okay?" Rachel asked.

Unlike us, Tobias was completely covered in dust. Each movement he made sent the dirt swarming into the air.

"I'm fine. Just a little shaken up."

It was a good thing that no cars were on the freeway because what followed could be described as apocalyptic. The streetlight's bulb burst, starting a domino effect with the other street lights further down the road. Then the city lost power and everything went black for a second. And like magic, the sky lit up with the universe.

"Guys? You should take a look at this," I was about to tell Tobias that the night sky wasn't that interesting to interrupting their inspections, but then I noticed that he was talking about something else.

There was something small in the sky. It was being bombarded with a few consecutive blasts of red light and it fell apart. No explosions no fire. It just fell apart. I already knew what I just observed by the time it began to burn up in re-entry.

I was finally able to peel my eyes away for a moment to see that the rest of my friends were barely looking up. Tobias and Rachel though, they were holding hands as they watched the event. I always knew that there could be something there.

"It's so beautiful," Cassie said in awe.

I couldn't help but agree with her. Meteor showers weren't very common here in Ferndale. Especially since the light pollution blocked out all extraterrestrial light. Ha!

One of the "meteors" that was falling through the atmosphere suddenly took a sharp turn and started heading for us.

"That's not possible," Marco said in disbelief, "A meteor, like that, shouldn't even travel this fast without exploding in mid-air."

I agreed with Marco, but I knew that it wasn't a meteor. And I think Marco knew as well but would admit it. In a panic, we started to run out into the field to avoid being crushed by the thing. Except that we ended up travelling to where it was actually going to hit.

A blue glow was projected on to us, making us stop dead in our tracks. We looked up to see that meteor we thought we saw was actually a cylindrical ship. It didn't look like those alien ships that you would see on tv on a Saturday morning. It was more of a water bottle without the cap. Looking at it made me feel uneasy. I felt as though it shouldn't be able to exist, yet I felt as though I knew about it all my life somehow.

We stood frozen as it slowly settled on to the ground.

"That. It. Uh. Can it be?" Marco stuttered.

He was the only one of us with any motor function left in the body to even utter a confusing question. The rest of us just looked at the pod with our jaws open, well except for Tobias. That boy's face was lit with happiness. You'd believe that he'd spent his whole life waiting for a moment like this. Though we all did at one point in our childhood. But he seemed unfazed by how ridiculous this should be.

But then again, BioMechs did exist in our world and the news talked about it all the time. But they only ever seemed to exist in the populated cities of the countries so it seemed more like a fabricated story to reap in more views to the news station. After all, those people are notorious for doing just about anything to rack them in.

We jumped at the sudden noise of air pressure being moved as a seam of light appeared on the pod's body. A ramp slowly formed as the entrance grew wider. Strong white light blocked our view of whatever was inside, but that didn't stop Tobias from inching closer.

"Hello? You can come out, whatever you are. We won't hurt you."

 **I know. But please do not be afraid** a disembodied voice echoed in our brains in response to Tobias.

"That was wicked!" Rachel exclaimed with glee.

I looked at Jake to see how he responded. But his expression just remained neutral and calm. Though I could see that he squeezed Cassie's hand. Marco just let his terror show without any filter.

Clacks of hooves began to become audible as blue furred hooves appeared from the light first. A torso, hands, and head were outlined against the bright light causing a shadow that blocked the light but also covered any details of the alien's body that we would've been able to see otherwise.

The figure stumbled and fell over before it could reach the end of the ramp sending Cassie in a frenzied panic to its side followed by Tobias. The rest of us gathered around it to see what was wrong. A gashed wound opened up on its side. The wound appeared to be burned at the bottom, also. It was a nasty thing to see. The blood that oozed out was thick and had a blue-black appearance.

"Jake. Danny. One of you, give me your jacket. Now." Cassie ordered.

Jake just stood like an idiot but I quickly tore my sweater off and tossed it to Cassie.

I stood without a sweater in the night. But I didn't feel any cold. Either this was a result of the shock from what was happening right now or it was from the heat that the pod was radiating. It didn't feel hot but I could feel something emanating from it.

 **No. No time for that. The yeerks are coming** the alien tried to stagger to its feet but quickly fell back down.

"Yeerks? What does that mean?" Jake finally spoke out.

 **They are parasites. They appear like one of your earth slugs without a host**

The alien pulled out a canister from out of a satchel that he was laying on top of and touched some places of it which lit up like buttons. Then he pushed the top of the canister into itself.

A hologram projected around us showing us images of alien creatures being dunked into a pool filled with gross little slugs. Then it changed to humans being taken over by Yeerks and rows of cages filled with crying people. It was a horrific scene. It made all of us try to look away.

 **Yeerks try to find hosts to infest in order to escape their own biological prison** I could feel his hatred. I wondered if his species were empaths to substitute their lack of mouths. **We Andalites have dedicated our life to ridding the galaxy from the Yeerk scourge. This is why we were stationed here on your earth. To fight the menace that are the Yeerks. But we were not prepared for the powerful Blade Ship that they managed to hide in a crevice of your planetary satellite**

The hologram began to project a terrifying Ship the size of a football field shooting lasers at another ship. It was in the shape of a Dome with a large body underneath it. It looked like a mushroom with roots. The top of the ship detached as the rest of it exploded and entered the atmosphere.

 **I am one of the last Andalites in your space sector. And I need help to fight this menace. Will you help me?** he looked at us with his main and stalk eyes.

"I will." Tobias and I blurted at the same time. We looked at each other in understanding and nodded.

We turned to the others to see what their response would be. Cassie was still busy trying to tend to the Andalite's wound, Jake looked worried, Rachel's face was formed into a menacing smile, and Marco, well, Marco was pacing around like crazy.

"This. This is insane. Tell them, Jake. Tell them how crazy this all is. I mean we're just a bunch of kids who are barely legal and are in the last month of school. We can't fight a war against an alien race. I mean what are we going to do? Get some guns and start shooting at possibly armoured aliens who aren't affected by bullets and hope to god that we won't be arrested and labelled as terrorists?"

 **There is something that I can help with that** the Andalite's fur began to change colour and his body slowly shifted shape.

Cassie stumbled backwards freaked out by the sudden change.

His stalk eyes slowly shrivelled up and disappeared into its skull with a sickening Schloop! His fingers began to fuse together and become three slender and long fingers with nails. Feather patterns appeared on his body in the form of tattoos before becoming full blown feathers. His eyes narrowed and shrunk to the size of pennies. The place where his mouth should be suddenly split open giving him an eerie look before the area around it hardened and began to protrude. His tail sank into his but and his hooved feet disappeared and reformed as talons. He was able to stand now, but there was still a wound, though nearly healed and less terrifying. His form toward above us but then he began to shrink. Soon he barely stood at 4 feet below us.

 **This animal is called a Magree. It is from one of my homeworld's moons. We Andalites possess a technology that allows us to take the form of any animal or creature that has a stable DNA signature. It is the power to morph and it is done by acquiring the DNA of any animal we physically touch. Sharing this technology with any other species that isn't an Andalite is the greatest punishable crime. But if you decide to aid me in my fight against the Yeerk Empire. I will share the power of my species. But it is up to you**

"We have to," Cassie said after a minute of cold silence.

"Are you crazy?" Marco protested. "We could die Cassie."

"I know. But. This is our home. Our Planet. We can't just give it up without a fight now that we know what is going on."

"Why us? Why not one of the other capable people that live on earth too? There are other humans who have powers only we could dream of. They fight another alien threat far greater than a parasite. So why us?" Jake demanded.

 **Those humans you talk of. Those are not regular humans. Before we came to your earth, we spent some time studying your physiology and society. During that time we noticed that some of your enhanced humans resemble experiments identical to that of the Arn, a species that aren't able to be infested but are enslaved by the Yeerks. And the BioMechs that plague sectors of your earth, those are also another one of the creations of the Arn. All these were unleashed on your world to distract from the fact of an invasion. While all of humanity's attention is on these beasts, the Yeerks are allowed to continue infesting your species undetected**

So everything that's been happening has been orchestrated by the Yeerks? I couldn't wrap my head around this. It all seemed so surreal.

"If all this is happening that we will do what we can to help you," we all nodded in acceptance of Jake's statement, even Marco to my surprise.

"Okay, so if we're going to do this together then we need to know each other" -Marco stated as he began to introduce himself- "My name is Marco Cruz, I am the comedian of the group, and these are my friends. My glorious leader and beast friend, Jake Berenson. His fashionista of a cousin, Rachel Ilem. The shy boy but glorious gamer, Tobias Neil. Our Wildlife expert and studying to be a surgeon, Cassie Mendez. And last but not least, Daniel Juarez, the guy who thinks he can take my job but is also very good at strategic gaming."

We all nodded as he called each of our names. The alien began to revert back to his original form as soon as Marco finished introducing us.

 **My name is Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul. And as you know already, I am an Andalite. I am afraid that our introductions have eaten up most of our time. We should hurry. The Yeerks could be here at any given moment. Jake. Go into my ship there is a blue blox on the main control panel. Get it and bring it to me.**

Jake disappeared into the pod for a few seconds before reappearing with a baby blue cube that appeared to glow.

"Was that your family? In the hologram?" Jake asked as he handed over the cube.

 **Yes. They are the only family I have back home. Though my brother and sister were on the dome ship**

I could see that Tobias was about to ask something but Elfangor interrupted.

 **Each of you. Place your finger on one of the vertices**

We did as we were told and as soon as the last one of us touched the points, a tingling sensation pulsed through our bodies.

An image took over my mind. It was an animal and an alien. The alien looked just like the one that Elfangor morphed into. But the animal. My animal that appeared in my mind was a cheetah. It's black spots formed voids in it's golden fur. And it's eyes pierced my soul.

I snapped out of it to see that my friends had gone through a similar process.

"What was that?" Tobias asked Elfangor.

 **You have developed individual earth morphs that suit your personalities best. We call these default morphs our soul walkers. Each Morpher new to the experience gets two default DNA base patterns. One is the Magree which is used as test for our cadets. The second one is the soul walker that is formed based on the morpher's knowledge of creatures and their personalities. It is almost always different for each morpher. Now, you have to concentrate on that animal and focus on making the changes to your body. Your life depends on it**

What happened next was out of a child's nightmare. We were all animal-human hybrids. And it was disgusting. Morphing was not a pretty sight. The skin melting into patterns and having things pop out. The uncomfortable itch that follows it. Sounds of bones breaking and reshifting into different places. Monstrous sounds that come out of our mouths when we tried to speak. I would have liked to go on with my life without experiencing that ever again.

But the morphing process was over as soon as it began. Jake was now a peregrine falcon, Rachel a bald eagle, Marco turned into a hyena, Cassie was a wolf, Tobias became a cougar and I was now a cheetah. Elfangor though, well he was a squirrel. Not the best animal for an escape. Jake and Rachel made a break for the squirrel but crashed into each other. The rest of us growled and circled the 3 of them.

 **Control yourselves. Don't let the animal instincts control you. You have the upper hand. You're humans. Remember that** Elfangor ordered as he was chased by the two birds.

We managed to wrap our control over our instincts and stopped.

 **That was a doozy** Rachel's voice flooded my mind. **Whoa how did I?**

 **No time for an explanation. We have to get out of here. Now.** Jake commanded as a steady whir began to sound.

I saw as Jake hooked his talons on Marco and Tobias pick up Elfangor. They all left running leaving me and Rachel behind. Rachel struggled to flap her wings trying to take off into the sky.

 **Rachel. Grab on to me. Birds can't fly during the night**

I winced as I felt her clawed talons pierce my skin and fur. My paws took off and padded against the ground. I could hear Cassie howl in the distance. They were a long way off but Cheetahs were known for their speed. I loved how fast I was going and wanted to see if I could go even faster. But Rachel was already having a hard time trying to stay attached to me.

 **You know. I always knew that we were close. I could even go as far to say that we're Birds of a Feather** I joked.

 **Oh Shut up** she dug her talons deeper causing me to squeal.

Behind us the pod lit up in an explosion that would've made Michael Bay proud. But we still managed to escape.


	4. Chapter 3

I woke up one minute before my alarm was supposed to ring. I remained sitting on my bed still half asleep and groggy waiting for my alarm to go off so that I could switch it off. 2 minutes passed by and I slipped back into sleep. But I woke up as soon as I began to feel the sensation that I was falling several stories.

The first thing I noticed when I finally snapped awake was that my clock was blank. Black-out. I struggled to remember what happened yesterday. Why did I feel as though I only had 4 hours of sleep and why was I naked in my bed when I've always been so self-conscious to even think about stripping in my bedroom.

Then it clicked into place. I remembered everything that happened. Elfangor, the Invasion, morphing, everything. But it felt as though it was all just a dream. Just a cool dream.

I decided to try and morph in order to test out my theory. Patterns of spots and fur began to appear on my skin. It kind of tickled me and caused a slight itch. Elfangor's warning popped into my head.

 ** _Don't stay in a morph for more than 2 hours. If you do, you will be trapped forever, as a nothlit._**

The patterns disappeared from my hands. I don't have time for that right now. I finished dressing and brushed my teeth. My braces somehow still remained stuck on my teeth despite the whole turning into a completely animal thing. I wonder if they had disappeared when I morphed into the cheetah or if they remained on the cheetah's fangs.

I was still a little fuzzy on what happened yesterday. The last thing that I remembered was leaving Cassie's barn after creating a makeshift hidden bed for Elfangor. After she treated my wound the pod's shrapnel made on me. The scar was actually still remained on my left arm.

Elfangor said that it was weird that the morphing process hasn't healed my wound. Something about how our morphs were genetic and any superficial damage we sustain should reset after morphing into another creature. But he thinks that it could also be because the morphing cube was only meant for Andalites and was never tested on other creatures. So the morphing technology could affect us in many unforeseen ways. We just had to wait and see what would happen later on.

Whatever the reason, I'll still have to think up of something to tell my mom if she ever sees my scar. I know that I won't be able to hide it from her long enough for it to completely heal up and disappear. For now, I would just have to try and wear my sweater at all times no matter how stuffy I'll get inside. Speaking of, my favourite blue sweater was ruined yesterday with alien blood. Now I'd have to be wearing the burgundy one.

My door creaked open making me jump. It turned out to just be my cat, Russet, an orange tabby with a part of his ear chomped off from a fight he got into when he was a bit younger. He was barely 6 months, but he still looked so young. Yet, in just a few more days he would look like older. Cats had such a weird ageing process. While it takes 18 years for a human to reach maturity, it would only take a cat a few months to get to the same level of maturity.

Maybe I should try to morph Russet. I still had an hour and a half until I had to get to school. Russet jumped onto my bed as if she knew what I was thinking and wanted to make it easier for me. I scooped him up into my arms and began to pet him. This could be easy practice for me right now. Besides I'm literally next to a wardrobe of clothes just in case I ended up nude again. Russet's purring stopped and he froze in my arms as I began to acquire him.

It kind of tingled. The feeling was similar to when I pressed my finger against the morphing cube. Except that it was a lot more pleasant.

"Danny! Breakfast!" my mom's heavily accented call broke my concentration.

Russet jumped out of my arms allowing me to get my backpack and walk out the door.


	5. Chapter 4

The kitchen smelled wondrous. Melissa often complimented my mom's cooking. It was the closest thing that she ever got to a home-cooked meal. Her parents were both principals of their own schools. Mr Chapman was the principal of my high school and Mrs Chapman was the principle of the newly constructed, Fernview University, located in the city next to us which was roughly 9 miles away.

"Hola Ma." I greeted my mother as I took a seat at the table.

"Y que le paso a Melissa? Pensaba que iba a estar aquí hoy," she asked as she set a plate of pancakes in front of me.

Most kids at my school always talked about how my mom was hot, but I just couldn't see it. Sure she was thin, fair skinned and was a bit taller than most women. It all made her seem as though she were an American until you heard her speak her broken English with a heavy Mexican accent. But she was my mom and I just couldn't see her in an attractive way.

She showed a lot of interest in Melissa though. I think that she actually approved and liked my decision of Melissa as my girlfriend. I guess that's why she was always worried when Melissa didn't show up here. Even though they both couldn't communicate properly, they still spent a lot of time connecting. My mom always went out of her way to make sure that Melissa would always feel at home here. And I guess it worked because she once mentioned to me that she viewed my mom as a friend and mother figure. Sometimes I couldn't help but feel bad for her familial situation. But I never allowed myself to ever express it in front of her. She needed her privacy.

"Tuvo que estar en e. Tuvo que estudiar para el examen de hoy," I quickly thought up of an excuse.

"Oh. Si. Casi se me olvido que tenían sus exámenes hoy. Pero de seguro vas a caminar con ella a la escuela, verdad?" she gave me one of those, you better do it, looks that always made me quiver in fear.

"Si. Voy a ir pa su casa enseguida de que termine mi desayuno," I was actually planning on walking to school with her, that is if I managed to catch her before she left her home.

The only times I ever managed to see her in the mornings was before school and during the break. She and I didn't have a single class together. An act surely made by Mr Chapman. I never got the feeling that he liked me at all.

"Ella te ocupa ahora más que nunca. He hablado con ella y se que esta pasando por algo muy mal.

I quickly finished my breakfast and washed it down with some juice before saying goodbye to my mom and leaving her to her devices with the imminent awakening of my sister and warning her that I would stay at Melissa's house.

Her house was just a few blocks away. It was much closer to the school than mine and Rachel lived near there. So did Jake and Marco. In fact, all of us with the exception of Tobias and Cassie lived within walking distance of each other. I wasn't sure where Tobias lived, but I think that his uncle's house was somewhere across town. And Cassie had her barn a mile or two on the outskirts of town.

I arrived at my girlfriend's house. No cars were in the driveway meaning that her parents were already gone. I rang the doorbell and waited patiently outside for her to answer. There were sounds of metal against wood followed by the door opening to reveal the most beautiful girl in my life standing there.

Her pale blonde hair was short and loose with her bangs curled up. They were able to give off a red gleam when the light bounced of in a correct manner. She had a pale complexion making me appear darker when I was with her, especially since I drew the short end of the stick when it came to inheriting my mother's skin tone. Her red lipstick covered lips were small, but they were enough for me. She was thin and was actually fairly tall. She stood at 5'6" but was able to boost herself thanks to the help of her 3 inch high heels making her my height. Not only was she beautiful but she was also smart and a master strategist such as myself.

Melissa was our valedictorian assigned by the mayor himself out of 3 other kids. She was able to go one on one against me in Chess for a fair amount of time and even managed to beat me in other games that required a careful thought process. Sometimes I wondered what I did to deserve such a person in my life.

"Hello, beautiful. Can I come in?" I smiled at her.

She glared at me. She never quite liked the nickname I had for her.

"Don't look at me like that. You know you love me," I chuckled.

"We should be heading to school instead."

"We still have an hour before the bell rings. We can waste some time," I showed her the time on my iPhone.

"Ugh. I hate it when you're right," she groaned as she let me in.

"Isn't that always?" I laughed.

Melissa's house was one of the biggest in Ferndale. Which was impressive since all of the houses in Ferndale were small. But since the Chapmans had a stable income and a great source of money, they were able to afford to buy two houses tear them down and building a new one in its place with a backyard. The building had 3 bedrooms. One for her parents another for her and an extra one for when one of her friends or I came over.

The main room had a huge chandelier and split off into 5 different rooms. Stairs connected to two halls on the second floor where the master bedroom and the two other bedrooms were located. Right in front of the main room was a door that leads into the kitchen and connected to the left room that was made into a dining room. The right one was the one where Melissa and I usually spent most of our time, the living room. We spent most of our time there either working on our homework or watching a movie together. There was another door in the living room, but it was always locked. Only her parents had the key to it and only they ever entered it.

Her cat meowed a greeting as I came in. We both loved cats. Her's was named Fluffer McKitty, it was a cute name. Though she was embarrassed by it since she was just a little girl when she named it.

"Hello Fluffer, how've you been," I cooed as the grey tomcat weaved around my feet.

I picked him up and turned around to face Melissa. Her face formed a scowl of disappointment.

"What?"

"I told you that I needed to be alone right now," she strode off into the living room.

"That's the last thing you need right now, is to be alone," I followed her to the sofa.

She shuddered as my hands touched her shoulders.

"I love you, Melissa. You know that right?" She nodded in reply.

"But that's not enough for me right now. It's just. I'm just going through so much."

She turned and gave me a hug. I wrapped my arms around her and just stood there for her as she sobbed into my chest. It was just heartbreaking to see her go through all this pain. I just wish that I could do something for her. Anything, other than just standing around like an idiot.

"Rachel's worried about you," I declared.

"I know. I haven't spoken to her in a few days. Maybe I'll talk to her tomorrow." Silence just surrounded us. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence. We were comfortable with each other, that any kind of silence wasn't awkward anymore.

"Can you stay with me after school?"

"Always."


	6. Chapter 5

School was much harder today than I actually remembered. But it could be because of the SAT test we had to take today. I know that the test was necessary for getting into a good University, but I really didn't need it other than to prove that I am good enough to get into a university.

Fernview University, the newly opened one didn't have any other requirements aside from having a good GPA of 3.5 which I easily passed with a 4.2. I've tried to convince Melissa to go to the same university as Jake, me and the others, but she kept saying that she needs some time away from home. But I wasn't going to give up that easily. I'm not the type of person who gives up so soon.

I know all the answers to test but my nervousness was clouding me and causing me to get restless. I was done with nearly 3/4ths of it by the time the bell rang releasing us all for lunch. With a sigh, I logged out and started to exit the classroom behind all the other students.

Jake and the others always sat at the same table during lunch every day. And thankfully they hadn't abandoned the habit today. There was a lot we needed to talk about regarding what happened last night, but it meant abandoning Melissa for today. So after a brief mental conflict, I got a pizza and burrito and headed to sit with them.

They were already talking in a hushed manner by the time I got there. We were all here except for Tobias.

"Where's Tobias?" I asked as I sat down next to Jake.

"He finished early and told me that he was going to the Barn to talk with our foreign friend some more," Cassie responded.

I was actually surprised that she was using secretive terms. It was smart actually. But the realization of that hit me hard. I was ignoring the fact all morning long trying my best to think that it was impossible, but now I wasn't so sure. Anyone could be a Controller, anyone, at all, and we wouldn't have a clue who it would be. As far as I knew my mom, my sisters, even Melissa could be Controllers.

Maybe Melissa wasn't a Controller. I hoped not. If she was a Controller then why would she care about her parents not paying any attention to her? It would be a Controller's dream to not have any attention on them. Wouldn't it?

"So we know that Controllers have to go to the pool every 3 days right?" Jake whispered.

"That is what… Emmett said," I pointed out.

"Lego movie much, Danny? So what does this have to do with anything?" Marco asked.

"It means that we can single out Controllers by being observant, Marco," Rachel remarked, "And if we can single them out, then it'll give us more options on who to trust."

"But we can't drag anyone into this Rache. Especially not our parents or any of our loved ones. If anything happened to mine, I don't know what I would do," I protested.

"Agreed. Family, is off limits. My father is barely starting to get over my Mom's death. I don't want to worry him about losing the only family he has left. If I'm going to join this, I want to have him think that I'm going off to the University and living my life safely instead of going off to war against an intergalactic threat with highly advanced weapons and phasers who construct Jaegers to distract everyone else from a Secret Invasion," I couldn't feel any more gratitude than what I had right now for Marco's agreement.

"Fine. But how will 6 kids and an Alien Prince be able to win a war against an Empire that we can't really differentiate from everyone else? I mean we might end up killing innocents for all we know," Rachel nearly yelled. I turned around to make sure that no one noticed Rachel's blow out before immersing into the conversation again.

"Killing? Who said anyone about killing?" Cassie whispered sharply. Her chiming in surprised me, she remained silent during the whole conversation up until now. "We aren't killing anyone. Those are innocent people taken over by an alien who is forcing them to do things that they don't want to do. We're going to save them not kill them," she scolded her best friend.

"And how do you suppose we do that? This is a war that Andy was fighting. In a war, if I may remind you, people die. They die for causes that they had no say in. And others kill to survive and win. How will we survive if killing is off the table?"

"I know that this is war, and that's why I'm not saying that killing is off the table. But we can't kill just because. It should be a last resort. I won't let us turn into something worse than those Parasites. We're going to do this my way, or none at all. Especially since I'm the only one with access to the Garden's which is going to be necessary for acquiring morphs," Cassie's glare challenged Rachel to speak against her in any way.

Her Best friend just stayed quiet with her arms crossed.

"Speaking of Controllers, several of them showed up at my house this morning," Jake stated.

We just stared at him in disbelief. How could he know someone was a controller? Elfangor said that it was impossible to distinguish them from normal people. And unless Jake confronted them, he shouldn't know if they were or not.

I think he noticed our disbelief cause he began to elaborate, "I know that we can't tell them apart from normal people, but several policemen showed up at my house wanting to talk about the van we abandoned on the road" -I nearly forgot about that. We took our clothes but failed to remember that the van would have more of an identification thanks to the plates and insurance- "At first I thought they were genuine but then they began to ask questions about the meteor shower and if I saw anything strange. I think I managed to convince them that I was alone driving and kept you guys out of this. But now we know that they've infiltrated the ones with authority. And I was thinking about telling the police. We can't trust anyone guys."

We just say in morbid silence taking it all in.

"We need to set some rules for morphing," Jake stated trying to break the ice.

"Like what?" Marco asked.

"Well, Rule number one, We cannot acquire another person without their consent. When we morphed into our spirit walkers last night, a form of consciousness manifested. We created an entirely new being, and if that happens with people too, then we'll essentially be turning into the Yeerks. Creating a new person out of nothing without the consent of that person and taking over the mind." We all nodded in agreement to that rule. There was some wisdom behind that.

"Number two, we have to be together at all times when we morph…"

"I'm sorry what?" I interrupted. "What do you mean we have to be together when we morph? That's ridiculous."

"He's right, Jake. If we find ourselves in a spot where there are yeerks and we need to fight without anyone to help us?" Rachel snapped.

We managed to convince Jake to drop the second rule. By the time the bell rang we had established 3 ground rules.

1\. We can't acquire a person without consent

2\. Don't trust anyone

3\. And keep each other's families safe

"Alright Animorphs let's go defeat that test," Marco laughed.

"Animorphs?"Cassie asked not getting what Marco had done.

"Yeah, you know. Animal Morphers? Animorphs? I came up with the name with Tobias last night." Marco smiled obviously proud of himself.

"That actually doesn't sound bad," I complimented.

"Thanks."


	7. Chapter 6

I think that I did pretty good on my test. After all, I always nail my tests. I never turn in my homework or any work at all, but when it comes to taking tests, I always come out on top. So I wasn't really worried about my score, especially when I managed to turn my scores around this last year. All I had to do was have Melissa force me to focus on my work and everything turned out great. But I was going to need another system for next year.

Graduation was next week. I can't believe that these last 4 years went by so fast. It felt as though I just moved to this town this year.

I actually didn't live in Ferndale my whole life. I came from Leeds when I was just 6 years old. After my dear ol' Dad left us because of his workaholic tendencies, we moved over to the States. And thanks to him we had a steady source of income. I guess he felt guilty that he couldn't be there for us, but I could care less. I didn't even know him at all, which is why I never understood my mom's constant desire to tell me that I was going to be fine without him.

Melissa and I always met up at the front of the building after school every day. But since today she left home early, I was surprised to see her standing outside waiting for me. I expected her to have gone home when she was finished, instead she was on her laptop sitting on a table under a tree waiting for me.

"Hello, Beautiful. I thought you left home early."

"Oh," she jumped. "Danny. I uh, I was waiting for you. I actually wanted to walk home with you," she laughed nervously.

I looked at her. She was acting strangely. I was about to look at her computer to see what she was doing when she closed it quickly.

"Shall we go now?" she grinned.

Any thoughts about what she was hiding quickly disappeared and we left.

No matter how many times I go to her house, I'll never shake off the amazement on the size of it. From the outside, there was a considerable size difference as it was bigger than any other house in the town. But inside it looked bigger. Now that I knew that aliens were real, I was beginning to wonder if Doctor Who or anything similar to the TimeLords existed. Along with generally any other alien from pop culture media. Were there any aliens that influenced their ideas or looks? I'd have to ask Elfangor later.

"Our last 2 weeks of school. What do you think about it?" she asked me.

"I think that. We _should_ do something else. It can wait for later," I offered.

"Yeah. It can." I agreed.

We spent the next few hours focusing on her speech that she was going to give during the Graduation ceremony. I offered critiques and ideas for what she could say. Together we improved it a bit more. It was a little ritual we performed every time I came over. The speech she had now was completely different than the original save for the ideas. I was pretty sure that I was the only one to help her with that since Rachel never mentioned Melissa's speech. Or at least I hoped I was the only one to help her with it. I know, I'm selfish.

Afterwards, we just relaxed and watched a couple of movies. Her parents always came home late so it wouldn't be a problem. Plus tomorrow was the weekend so we wouldn't have to worry about getting any rest for a big day. Except for me, I had to meet up with the others to finally decide what exactly we were going to do about our predicament. I've been avoiding this whole thing far too long. While Jake, Cassie and Tobias were busy taking care of Elfangor, the rest of us have been going on with our lives as though nothing had changed. It was an illusion we would have to burst sooner or later.

I was twisting the ring on my finger nervously when Melissa decided to rest her head on my shoulder.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked me.

Shoot, she was always good at figuring out when someone was distracted. I was a great liar when I needed to be, but I didn't like to lie. But if I didn't then I would put my friends and me in danger if anything bad ever happened. Besides I couldn't just say something after we all decided not to get our loved ones involved.

"I was thinking about the future," I hoped that the glow and noise of the movie would mask the uncertainty of my voice.

"I know that I'm the one who didn't want to talk about it, but. I. I just wanted you to know that I will always be here for you. And to prove it I wanted to give you this," I pulled my ring off and slipped it onto her right index finger.

She already knew what the ring represented for me. I'd told her the story of how I got it a dozen times already, and she loved the story.

I got the ring from my grandmother who I was very close to before she passed away. She herself obtained it from her best friend before he went to war. The two were the closest when they were kids. Her friend had a crush on her and wanted to marry her when he came back from service. But he never did. All she had left to remember him by was the ring. And all I had to remember my grandmother by was the ring too. So I almost never took it off.

I was glad I did take it off yesterday though. If I hadn't, I think I would've lost it during the morphing process. Either that or broken it when my fingers grew fat into the paws of a cheetah.

But now I was intentionally giving it away. To my girlfriend. I know that it was in the promise of never leaving her, but I knew that she didn't want to stay here. And this was a dick move on my part. Tying her to this place because of me, but there was no going back now. At least like this, there would always be a part of me with her in case she did end up moving away.

"Danny… I" -tears edged to the corners of her eyes- "I want you to know that. I've decided to…" I pressed my lips against hers to silence her. I didn't want to know what her decision was right now. Either choice would hurt too much. Both would still be my fault.

"Don't. Not right now. We have all summer, right?" I smiled.

"Yeah, I guess we do," she sniffed.


	8. Chapter 7

I guess we fell asleep because the next thing I knew was cracking my eyes open slowly to the sound of a conversation. The tv was still turned on but the volume was now turned down nearly all the way. Only brief whispers came out of it, but since I was just waking up it seemed as though it was loud enough to wake someone up. But that wasn't the conversation I was hearing.

Melissa was now snuggled up on me preventing any movement from my part without waking her. I slowly tried to wriggle out of her reach. She began moving when I managed to free my arm. I froze waiting for her to stop.

Once was finally able to leave the couch and leave her sleeping sitting down, I walked over to the main hall. The door we were always warned to not open was open. That's where the voices were coming from. I was curious about what was going on and what was really down there. So I stripped off my clothes and hid it back behind the sofa. As long as no one came over here and Melissa stayed asleep, I would be fine. Though I didn't want to find out what would happen if one of her parents found my clothes discarded on the floor next to their daughter.

I guess I'll be able to try out my Russet morph now. No way will a cheetah go unnoticed wherever the door leads. And the whole reason I stripped was so that I could morph something small so that I wouldn't get caught.

I could feel the familiar itch that took me back to last night as fur began to sprout out of my skin. My eyes began to adjust to the dark as they narrowed and changed shape. My mouth protruded forming a short snout as several strands of fur continued to elongate beating the others in size as they became whiskers. All the changes took longer than my first time. 4 minutes total. I guess it made sense because the events that lead to me morphing for the first time gave me an adrenaline boost.

The cat instincts suddenly popped into existence and took hold of me. I jumped onto the coffee table where there were several items placed carefully on top. Cat! I smelled a cat. There was a cat in my territory and it had touched one of the cups.

I pawed at it trying to push it off the table in retaliation to the scent. It was nearly falling by the time I was able to get a grip on my body. I almost gave myself away by breaking a glass cup. These instincts were proving to be more troublesome than useful.

A once over on my appearance let me discover that I was indeed the same age as Russet and would have been a near identical carbon copy if it weren't for the ear that was completely fine.

So it could heal injuries that the original animal had, but not the ones that were gained during a morph. That just didn't make any sense. But I did find it cute that I looked like a tiny orange Tiger.

Regardless, I ventured into the place I once promised never to go to in this household. But technically I was still true to my word. I wasn't the one going into the darn place, Russet was.

The stairs inside the closet-like room lead the way downstairs to a basement that I don't think even Melissa knew existed. At about half-way down something, something I heard, chilled me to the bones. Or rather, something I didn't hear chilled me to the bones.

((...incompetence, Iniss 226. There are reports that Andalites survived and crash landed, scattered, across the country)) Andalites? Was Chapman working for Andalites? This was the same way Elfangor communicated after all. Did this mean that there were more humans in the resistance against the Yeerks?

Sure enough, as I rounded the corner the hologram of an Andalite met my eyes. He looked different than Elfangor. This one had a bit of longer fur on his chin that was changing from Blue to a purplish orange. His tail blade was certainly much longer and his eyes were narrower.

I was about to call the attention to myself with some thought speak when their next exchange stopped me with dread.

"Yes, I'm so terribly sorry Visser 2. I…"

((Visser 2. VISSER 2")) I could feel my body go numb with terror as the thought-speak rattled within my skull ((I am no longer Visser 2. Thanks to that Andalite sum, Prince Elfangor, I have been stripped of that rank. The Yeerk Council has assigned me a new rank. Visser 5, after my failure to secure the Santur homeworld. For now, that is how you will all address me when I arrive on the planet))

These were Yeerks. Not Andalites. I almost gave myself away because I thought they were the good guys. If I didn't already feel the threat of the Yeerks was severe, I certainly did now. I decided to allow the animal instincts to take over the wheel and take a backseat while I listened to their conversation in order to make it seem as if I were a real cat.

"Yes, yes Viss...Visser 5," Chapman stuttered in terror.

((You're incompetence at securing your assigned town is spectacular. Many other Yeerk pools have been able to infest thousands of Yeerks already in the couple of years we've spent on earth, yet you yourself cannot even capture a simple thousand of able-bodied livestock. If it were up to me, I would have taken your sub-Visser rank long ago)) Chapman gulped nervously as the Visser continued berating him. ((Alas, only the Council 13 is able to do that. And they've deemed you capable enough to carry on for some reason))

((Ylio 1473, your former apprentice, has pleased me enough to spare you. So at least you've done something right.)) Another hologram popped up. It was Jake's brother, Tom. He was another controller and he was in control of something called the Sharing. I needed to tell Jake about this.

My cat morph yawned at the lack of action and began to sniff around trying to find a place to rest. Because I was still a kitten, I was unable to reach the high places like counters and the chairs. Instead, I ended up laying down next to the hologram projector where it was warm enough for the comfort of the cat mind. A small purr of satisfaction escaped my throat attracting the attention of the Andalite Controller.

((What is this?)) Visser 5's stalk eyes swivelled down to observe me causing the hologram panel to dissipate preventing me from reading anything more. It took all my willpower to not take control of my body and run away.

"That, sir, is a species of cat humans call a Bengal. I believe that it is Wirb 487 and my hosts' daughter's boyfriend's pet. He usually brings the kitten over during his visits to give my daughter's cat some company. Shall I get rid of him?"

((You know. A couple of years ago when I brought the first Yeerk Poolships, I encountered these species. They are quite ferocious)) as if on queue, my paw tried to swipe at the Visser's hand that was extending over to try and touch me. My paw swipes caused an interruption to the hologram that made it waver a bit.

((They would have made a great host for us. If they weren't so small)) a flash of his tail blade aimed to my ears startled me sending the instincts into a frenzy. I scrambled on the polished floor for a bit before gaining traction. I booted it out of there as quickly as I could.

I made it to the living room in a couple of seconds and began to demorph. Clothes are tough to get into when your adrenaline is pumping. But I managed to get them on quick enough.

Melissa was still fast asleep on the couch in the position I left her in. It was enough to calm my racing heart. She was just beautiful to me. Like an angel. I now had confirmation that she was indeed _**not**_ a controller. Chapman called her his host's daughter, not by a Yeerk name. I leaned down and kissed her cheek softly.

"I love you, Melissa. And I will never let anything bad happen to you," I whispered.

I heard footsteps coming up from the basement. I quickly sat back down on the sofa and put my arm around Melissa to pull her into me. She snuggled up to me letting out a content sigh as Chapman locked the door to his secret room.

I could tell that Chapman walked into the living room even without opening my eyes. There was the sound of paper crinkling as I could suddenly feel his breath on me.

"Hello, Melissa. I'm a friend of your father. He wanted me to give this to you and let you know that he loves you. No matter what. He's paid the ultimate price to protect you, that's how much he loves you. I could get in trouble for doing this, Melissa. I know that I took him away from you, but that doesn't make me the bad guy. I'm just desperate to get my people what they need. Even if it means doing what other sentient beings think of as wrong. We aren't evil, just desperate."

For a moment, I kind of felt sorry for him. But I remembered what he was doing to everyone on earth. From what I heard, they already had thousands of people under their control. And that could happen to Melissa at any moment.

"Daniel, I know that we don't see eye to eye most of the time. It's to be expected from the father of a daughter, but, and I know that you might not remember when you wake, I want you to take care of my daughter. With every once of strength. Never ever let anything bad happen to her. If you love her as much as you say you do, then you'll make sure she's safe from any kind of danger." That was a promise I could keep.


	9. Chapter 8

The next day we were meeting at Cassie's barn on the outskirts of town. It was one of the safest places we could meet to discuss things without being overheard. No one would be going out of their way to get to the barn that was in the middle of nowhere. Not unless there was an animal that needed to be taken care of, but that's what the veterinary clinic was for in town.

Jake and Marco had gotten there by car. Cassie was already there. But Tobias and I took the opportunity to morph. It would've been strange to see a cougar and cheetah roaming around town but we had the common sense to do it in the forest near us.

On your left Danny Tobias jumped over me and nearly hit me with his hind legs.

Watch it Tobias, there are too many trees here. You're going to end up getting hurt, and we really can't heal fast as Elfangor can when we demorph I moved my tail that ended in a stump for proof.

Oh, yeah. But Elfangor healed completely after morphing several times. And he had the scar from his injury for a short day He knew this because he spent the whole day yesterday with Elfangor.

But we still don't know if it works the same way for us. This is the second time I've morphed a cheetah, yet I still have a stubby tail I would've glared at him if I were able to.

"You guys are late. What were you guys doing?" Marco noticed that we were in morph as we came into the Barn. All the animals inside began to panic and make noise as they took in the sudden scent of two predators.

"Can you guys demorph? You're making the animals panic," Cassie asked.

We uh, actually can we stay in morph? Clothes don't exactly cooperate with morphing it was true. Every time we morphed, clothes would get shredded. It wasn't very good economic-wise.

"Fine," she begrudgingly accepted as she began to drape fabric over the animal cages. I doubted that it would do anything to stifle our scent from them, but at least this way their noises would be muffled and wouldn't attract the attention of her parents.

I have something to tell you guys I admitted. I cast a quick glance at Elfangor who was laying on the hay But first, why hasn't my tail healed while one of the morphs I have doesn't have the physical damage of the original animal from which I got the DNA?

The Andalite Prince looked at the stub of a tail I had.

That is rather peculiar. Usually, by the time we need to morph another creature, the DNA has repaired it correctly. It might be because of the fact that you are human Elfangor observed.

I spent the next half hour telling everyone about what I'd seen last night at Chapman's house. They all listened intently as I told the story.

"That's all nice and dandy, but shouldn't you have waited to tell us this once Rachel came?" Marco wondered.

Actually I sent her to Melissa's, she'll be watching Chapman. It might give us a chance to find out where the Yeerk Pool is because… It was time to tell Jake the bad news. I didn't want to do this, but I had to. Tom is a controller

Jake's expression was an utter shock at first and slowly turned into displeasure.

"I'm not happy about this Jake, but I told you," I didn't know what Marco was talking about, I was lost on that.

What are you both talking about? Tobias voiced my confusion.

"Before you guys came, Marco and Jake were arguing about whether or not Tom was a Controller. I thought Tom wasn't a Controller, so what makes you say that?" Cassie explained.

"NO! You don't know Tom like I do. In all the time Tom was living with us, I've never seen him change with anything. He's the same person that I've always known. He isn't some vessel for a brain slug to possess!" he exploded.

I've never seen him this mad. Not since he wasn't able to make the cut on the basketball team.

I saw his file, Jake

If what Daniel saw is true, then we'll need to strike the Pool right now to save your brother Jake before Visser 6 arrives. Which may be in a few months, but preparations for his arrival may null our attempts Elfangor stood up.

Elfangor's rationality finally made Jake open his eyes to the possible implications this would cause if it were true, which I know it was.

"We're going to need some battle morphs then."


	10. Chapter 9

"I can only bring in one guest for free. But any other guests that enter with me get a discount," Cassie began to explain.

We were at the Gardens. It was our town's attraction. A hybrid of an amusement park and a zoo, it brought in tourists from around the coast during the summer, when the temperature here was a bit more tolerable, which gave us the money we needed for renovations and other things that I didn't really care about. Just because I live here doesn't meant that I'll know everything about it.

The Gardens wasn't technically part of Ferndale since it was about 4 miles away and closer to the beach allowing the breeze that came from it to nip your skin. It really wasn't ideal if you wanted a summer of hot fun. But it was if you wanted to get away from the heat, which seemed like the objective of the many people that travelled over here.

Cassie took out an ID from her pocket and showed it to one of the workers manning the toll booth. She was only able to get Jake in for free while the rest of us would have to cough up some money in order to get through. I was starting to wonder why I didn't just morph into my cat and just sneak in, but then I remember about the clothes situation. The Gardens didn't allow any bags in so there would be no way to get clothes on to the other side for us to dress in order to not have to walk around naked.

Instead, I pulled out $30 in defeat. There was no other way we would be able to get in. And my cheetah morph wasn't really built for fighting. So I had to get in to choose a suitable morph just in case what Prince Elfangor had said was true and we'd have to face off against aliens in the Yeerk Pool. I wasn't as gung ho about it as Rachel, but I did keep imagining how it would be like to fight.

I watched a lot of fighting movies which was what made me interested in it. But Marco's worrying also ebbed at my excitement. His points were genuine. Any of us could die in the process. But we couldn't just stand back and let the Yeerks win. Right?

"I'm still not on board with this whole idea, Jake. We still have time to go back," Marco tried to convince Jake.

"If you want to take the coward's way out Marco then the door is wide open. You can leave, we can do this without you. And without your whining," Tobias said sharply.

"Whoa, shy boy finally found his voice. And it turns out he's a fighter. So what are you going to do Tobias? Let them give you a flushie until they die?" Marco mocked.

The tollbooth boy just gave us a weird look as we passed by. I could hear his sigh.

"I'm going to defend my home as best as I can. It's more than I can say about you. All you want to do is stay at home until this all blows over. News Flash, it won't. The Yeerks are real, and they intend on invading this place until everyone is under their control," Tobias glared at him.

Marco was about to open his mouth to retort back when Jake interrupted them. "Shut up! Both of you. You're going to get us caught by Controllers," he hissed.

((Cassie, there are no security guards in your vicinity. You may proceed)) Elfangor's voice came from above.

Elfangor had acquired one of the birds from Cassie's barn to scout the place from the air. For whatever odd reason, he had refused to acquire a human morph. Even with our consent. And no matter how much we pushed, he wouldn't explain why.

It must've been something big that was preventing him from morphing into a human so that he could walk around freely in public.

But we still planned to have him come down in order to acquire a morph capable of doing damage since it seemed that the only morphs he had were only capable of fitting in.

"So we're going to have to be really quiet inside, guys. There will be a lot of blind spots where security guards could be hiding," Cassie warned as she inserted her mother's security card.

She managed to swipe it from her mother's purse before we left. It was the only thing that would be able to open up the cages for us to enter. Without it we wouldn't be able to do anything in here. Especially without drawing attention to ourselves, and that was something that we couldn't afford to do.

With the help of Jake and Marco, Cassie opened the heavy metal door. The osprey circling the sky above folded his wings and dive bombed straight into the opening. We followed close behind. I was the last one in and pulled the door in with all my strength until the click it made satisfied me.

The hallways were narrow. But they were still big enough to fit three of us from shoulder to shoulder. Everything was gray and smudged with dirt. It wasn't clean, but it was better than the walls that enclosed the zoo animals from what I've seen.

"I've got the area mapped out. We can take that hallway to get to the Tigers and Big Jim" –She pointed to the left before pointing behind us– "Daniel. The Jaguar habitat is behind us. I'm not going to be able to go with you to help you acquire it, but they should be tranquilized right about now. It'll only last for a couple of minutes so you'll have to hurry."

"What about you?" I asked.

A clasp of hooves smacking the ground announced that Elfangor had already demorphed.

"I already have my wolf morph. It'll be the only predator I'm going to acquire. And I also brought Rachel here earlier to get her own morph before going with Melissa. So don't worry about her. Elfangor, go with Daniel. Both you of you should help each other just in case something goes wrong. Tobias, your with us," she and the boys broke into a sprint and halfway away she turned and yelled, "Don't forget to acquire a bird!"

"And she took the card with her," I said in realization.

Like I said, without the key card, we're not going to be able to get into the cages.

((I can knock out a security guard with the flat end of my tail blade)) Elfangor offered raising his tail proudly.

"That could work," I smiled.

We now had a plan that we would be able to use to get a key card to open cages.


	11. Chapter 10

Prince Elfangor's hooves clacked too loudly for my taste, but the only way to knock out a security guard was to keep him in his normal body for his tail. He also had to acquire a morph and I knew already how exhausting it was to morph. Out of all my friends, I was the only one to morph multiple times.

Tobias was the only one who morphed, and he only did it once to get to the barn. I wasn't surprised. The others still expected this all to just be a wild dream from which they'll eventually wake up from. Now that was a chilling thought. If this was a dream of theirs, it would mean that I would cease to exist when they woke up. Along with Elfangor, Melissa and everyone else.

That sent shivers down my spine. It kind of reminded me of a Doctor Who episode where everything was a simulation and when people found out it drove them to suicide.

((Daniel. There is a guard behind us. I do not think that she has noticed us yet as she is looking at her phone)) Prince Elfangor warned.

I turned to look behind me and saw the woman. She looked to be a few years older than me. Her body was actually very well defined by her uniform. I lost myself in her appearance until she looked up and locked eyes on me.

"Andali–" she didn't get to finish her warning to her radio as Elfangor struck her on the head with his tail blade. But she didn't need to. The Yeerks would already know what she was trying to say.

"Oh no."

((What's wrong?))

"She has a body camera," I pointed to the small black square that was hooked on her front pocket. "It's seen my face. And judging by what I've seen so far, that's the only camera that's recording here" –That was really crappy design on the Gardens part– "I really hope that this isn't bluetooth or wifi or else they'll already have my face recorded," I grabbed the camera and tossed it over to Elfangor.

He swiped his tail lightning fast and the camera broke in two halves.

We need to acquire the morphs, fast. Before more Controllers showed up.

Elfangor and I began to run trying to get to the cages where our animals would be. I'm gonna go to hell for being horny. I have a girlfriend for crying out loud. I shouldn't be staring at a woman like the way I did back there. Though it wasn't as bad as me flirting with anyone, right? But then again, Melissa knows about my flirting and allows it. Plus this screw up nearly cost me my identity.

"Andalite!" the yell made me jump as we turned a corner.

Great more Controllers.

"Crao!" I ducked as they swung a night stick above my head.

Elfangor wasn't so lucky. The other security guard, a man in his 40s, managed to hit Prince Elfangor's stalk eyes. The Andalite reared in pain and used his two front hooves to kick the man in the stomach sending him down to the ground in pain.

My Controller was another girl. This one was once again in her 20s. You wouldn't really see older women in these kinds of jobs. Only the younger ones from the "millennial" generation were the ones to break from the mold and choose their own jobs.

She tried to swing at me again, which I barely dodged, when I got a brilliant idea. I waited for her to bring the nightstick closer and I grabbed it. She struggled to pull it out of my grasp but I held on hard.

"Let go, you Andalite scum," she hissed with fury.

I finally managed to pull it out of her grasp and hit her as hard as I could with it. She fell to the floor unconscious. I then realized my mistake.

"Dam it. I touched the goddamn thing. If I leave it, they're gonna get my fingerprints. Why the fuck do I keep screwing up," I punched the wall and regretted it immediately.

The second guard had already passed out from the pain so I didn't have to worry about him listening to what I said. But I was still furious with myself with all the screw ups I'd committed. Hopefully the others were having better luck than me. I quickly checked to see if these Controllers had any body cameras too. Luckily for me, they didn't.

Elfangor had finally recovered from the pain inflicted on his eye stalks, though they were closed up.

"Hey, Elfangor? Can I acquire you as a morph?" I asked.

((Of course)) he gave me permission.

I pressed my hand against his blue fur and began to concentrate on him. A rush of joy came with the process. It was very different from when I acquired Russet. I've just broken one of our rules that Jake put in place. But this was a desperate moment. I couldn't let the Controllers think that I was an actual human. Maybe I could convince them that my regular appearance was just a morph.

My body began to undergo the now familiar, yet creepy, changes. The first thing to change were my fingers. I grew two extra ones making my hand look abnormally wider. My skin began to grow blue fur as my feet ripped my shoes as they turned into hard black hooves. My butt began to extend and grow its own set of feet as well. My lips closed shut and fused together as they disappeared. A tail sprouted from my rear and grew a tail blade. I wasn't sure if it was made of metal or bone. All I knew was that it would be sharp.

The last thing to change were my ears and nose. My ears grew into the shape of one of those elves from the hobbit and my nose just shrunk and become several slits. It was surprising that the sense of smell was a tad better than that of a regular human. It completely changed my expectations. Then the Andalite brain finally surfaced. It was not much different from my own. I still felt all the same emotions, love, fear, and the need for learning. But Joy was so strong. The mind was so Jovial. It took me a moment to rein in the brain and control it.

((Okay. Let's go.)) I stepped over the shredded clothes that I left on the floor and was about to gallop away when Elfangor stopped me.

((Wait. You're too identical to me)) he used his tail to cut off some fur in several places.

The Andalite in me felt dismay towards this. I had no clue why. All I knew is that I began to feel shame as the hair/fur-cut continued.

((I am sorry. This is usually reserved for those who have done something wrong in our society and is meant to instill shame, but it was necessary)) that explained the sudden shame I felt.

The speed of an Andalite was astounding. We managed to get to the habitat in under a minute. I used the key card that I stole from one of the guards on the door and waited for the click. Opening the metal door was a hard task since these Andalite arms were so weak. Even Elfangor admitted that there were so many other species that had stronger arms compared to Andalites.

But once we got the door to open we were able to get into the habitat. There weren't any people looking in thankfully. There was nothing to protect us from the view of the public except for the absence of people. Out here there would surely be cameras recording. My idea of morphing Elfangor was pretty smart as a result.

My stalk eyes swiveled around to survey the area before confusing me. I'd been keeping all four of my eyes focused on one thing because of the complication my brain had when it tried to comprehend what was happening. Looking at three different things was too much for me. So I returned to looking at everything at one time. I'd have to practice later with those extra eyes.

I couldn't see where any of the Jaguars were. So I decided to venture in further.

The leaves and small trees that decorated the habitat brushed against my fur and threatened to hit my eyes. I made the mistake of letting my instincts swivel my eyes several times disorienting me. I finally found the jaguars. They were sleeping next to the pond.

I slowly edged my way towards them trying my best to be silent.

I froze as their heads jerked up right before I could manage to lay a hand on one of them. Crao. I stayed as still as I could trying not to move a muscle. The jaguars may have already gotten the tranquilizer out of their system but they were still a bit sluggish. One of the females sniffed me out and licked my hand. I bet they've never seen anything like me. The only things to have crossed the door separating them from their world to an alien place have been other humans. And I was in my Andalite morph.

Nothing happened. No surge, the animal didn't even go docile. I had no idea what was happening but it was weird, shouldn't I have acquired the morph already?

((Daniel, I forgot to tell you that in order to acquire a new morph you need to be in your regular body))

((Now you tell me?)) I retorted. ((How am I supposed to acquire her now?)) the jaguar just lazily laid back down to absorb the sun's rays.

((Try to demorph your hand only. Focus on your hand demorphing)) he coached.

I focused on the mental image of an Andalite with a human hand. Different parts of my body became fleshy and soft like my normal human self until I finally had a human hand.

This time when I press my hand against the Jaguar I was able to acquire her easily. And thankfully just in time because the two security guards that Elfangor and I had knocked out earlier arrived.


	12. Chapter 11

Elfangor knocked the guards down to the ground stunning them in the process. He motioned his eye stalks to follow him which I gladly did. The fingers of the security guard crunched under my hooves as I accidentally stepped on him. We galloped away leaving the Controller in agony as his friend tried to help him. Hopefully, they'd stay there dazed long enough for us to do what we came for.

I focused on my hand and willed it to revert back to an Andalite's. I'd forgotten about it in my panic. I just hoped that they didn't notice the little detail or there would be a big problem in my hands.

The click-clack of our hooves rang out as we ran on the concrete. Today was involving a lot of running I realized. I'm sure that if anyone on the other side was listening they would think that horses or another animal with hooves, maybe even a camel, had escaped their pens and were on the loose in the corridors. At least they would if they weren't controllers. I've only been in on this alien invasion for a few days and I was already starting to be suspicious about everyone. I guess that was a good thing. In order to survive in the new world I was in, I was going to have to start keeping secrets and be wary of anyone and everyone. This was going to prove difficult with my mom though since I was losing clothes faster than I could replace them.

-We have to get you an avian morph, Daniel. That is the last thing you will need to complete the current mission.- Elfangor said as we turned a corner.

-It's nice that you want to get me to my morphs first, but we need the battle morphs before any secondary morphs. So we have to get yours before my bird morph.- I pointed out.

I didn't want to get a bird morph at all. There was something that I hadn't told the others yet. My fear of heights. It was going to come back and bite me in the ass later on but I wanted to avoid it as long as I could. Besides, it isn't like we're going to use them that much. We were only going to be focusing on the Yeerks here in our home, and this town was tiny.

So with a new goal in our minds, we galloped around the tight corridors until we made it to another habitat enclosure. This one was occupied by an herbivore, as opposed to the carnivore that I acquired earlier. But that didn't mean that this herbivore wasn't as dangerous. No, this one is actually deadlier than my Jaguar. The rhino with its thick hide and horn could power through most weapons and impale just about anything. It was nature's perfect tank.

-Remember to get near it slowly. These animals are gentle but when they get spooked, it'll be the place you won't want to be in.- I warned the Prince.

He nodded in acknowledgement to my advice and he proceeded inside. Hopefully, no one would see him in there and the animals were calm. The commotion and youtube attention would be counterintuitive to our plan.

I went back out into the corridor to stand watch. The guards could be coming in at a moment's notice. I could let my guard down by pretending that we got rid of them, especially not with the ones that wouldn't give up no matter what. I wonder how the others were doing. Guards were a bit of a hassle for Elfangor and me, but they were a much larger group. And with two Andalites running around, it would be much more believable that they'd just be a couple of trouble makers. So at least I was doing something to help them.

No more than a few seconds passed by when I saw the two security controllers come lumbering into view. I positioned myself in a stance that included my tail blade being above my head. Kind of like those samurais in movies. The two just aimed their flashlights at me making me scoff inwardly. What were they going to do with a flashlight? I could just whisk it off their hands and be done with them. A sharp weapon being part of my body and they were trying to fight me with a beam of light. This was just crazy.

Without hesitation, I dashed at them preparing to strike.

Then a beam of hot plasma shot out and passed me. It was nowhere close to me yet I felt all the excessive heat radiating out of those beams. The two plasma beams ended up hitting the metal door behind me melting it shut and trapping Prince Elfangor inside the habitat in the process. This was very bad. I was not prepared to deal with this kind of fighting. One false move, one hit of those plasmas and I could get vaporized or at the very least get very bad burns. Best to stay away from those things. But I didn't know how.

I swiped my tail in the air missing their weapons as they drew back. Yet they didn't try to shoot again. Instead, they hooked the flashlights back onto their belts and took out their nightsticks. I was confused. Why didn't they use it to gain the upper hand? Not that I was complaining. It was giving me a fighting chance.

"You're lucky that our Dracon Beams have to recharge for renewed use. Or else you'd be a pile of ash you Andalite filth," the woman explained to me as they both took out their batons.

Dracon Beams. That's what Elfangor said the Yeerks used to light up his ship. If those things could atomize structures, then what chance would I stand against one of those things if they were charged? Thankfully those things only had a one-shot charge per minute. If they tried to be used consistently more than once, they'd end up fried and the Yeerks didn't have the resources to replenish those weapons. At least that's as much as Prince Elfangor explained to us.

Despite her threats, I knew that she couldn't do anything like that to me. At least not currently. They both couldn't use the Dracon Beams for at least a while. I could easily knock them out in that time frame if I could get a hit in which was proving to be a tough task.

Right now I was trying to not get pummelled by the nightsticks. My weak andalite arms could barely hold them at bay. These two were strong, I could give them that. Each swing they gave I was barely able to block with either my hands or my tail blade. My blade was sharp, sharp enough to cut through the batons, I knew that. But I had no clue how to do so. Elfangor made it look so easy, but my attempts just bounced off of the batons once I got to the centre.

It was pathetic really. An alien vs two humans with sticks and I was losing. It was like fighting with a fork against a fencer and winning.

-Daniel!- Elfangor called to me once he got back to the door that was fused to the wall. I could hear the metal clang and rattle as he shook it trying to get out. It wouldn't be any use. Those Plasma bolts made sure that the gate would never open up again.

-It's no use. Dracon Beams fused the metal together. Morph osprey and get out of here. I'll find a way out myself,- I commanded.

-Use the flat end of your tail blade. Hit them as hard as you can on the side of their head. It should hit the temple and knock them out.- I looked over to Elfangor and saw as he began to morph.

The male controller jabbed me in the side making me double back and kneel on the floor grasping my side in pain. My breathing turned deep. It was actually easier to breathe even without a mouth.

I swivelled my stalk eyes upward and watched as he was about to club me on the head. In a flash of blue, I struck him on the side of the head with the edge of my blade and watched as he crumpled to the floor. The woman tried to do the same as her partner from behind but my stalk eyes caught her actions. I did the same to her and now both of them were unconscious once more on the floor. They were going to have a bad day for the rest of the day. Maybe tomorrow. Hope they have aspirin.

Concussions galore would await them in the future. I felt bad for the hosts but there was nothing I could do for them.

I looked up with my main eyes to see Elfangor perched on the meshed roof above my head.

-Go find Jake and the others. I'll catch up.- The osprey flapped his wings and took off leaving me to start demorphing.

Only an hour passed but I needed to get out of the zoo without announcing to the world that aliens were among us. The best way to do that was to use my cheetah morph. It was fast and deadly if need be. The worst that it could do was make the people outside nervous about a wild animal being on the loose, but that was better than the alternative of risking capture and infestation.

I finished demorphing and began to focus on becoming the cheetah. I was exhausted but I forced myself to keep going. No time to rest.

The hairs on my skin toughened and began to grow, changing into a yellow colour with random spots. Extra fur also began to fill in the empty patches of my naked body. I took comfort in the fact that there were no cameras around to watch as I underwent the process.

My eyes were the last parts of my body to change and once they finished I was able to get out of there. Elfangor should already be with the others and it would take some time for me to catch up.

I dashed around the corridors as fast as I could following the scent that we left behind. The cheetah's speed was astounding. I've always loved going fast but this was a whole nother level since I didn't need to be inside of a metal death cage to achieve these speeds. My sense of smell was also amazing. Andalite scent was weird, it smelled similar to a horse but with a strange aroma to it, almost sweet. I couldn't explain it. I don't think I'd ever get over how amazing it is to be a cheetah.

Somewhere along the path, more security guards began to chase after me. The initial minutes were the most dangerous. I had to weave and dodge their dracon beams. They splattered on the floor splaying out in dark markings. They gave off an ashy smell. Whichever the case, I tried my best to run under and over them. One nearly hit me but I was able to jump and push myself off the wall with my paws. Once they were all out of dracon beams I was able to run comfortably. They couldn't really use their guns as effectively as their alien guns. They'd make too much noise and alert the public. And the tranquilizers were just slower than the dracon beams so they were easier to dodge. Plus the aim of the guards were predictable. They always aimed at where I was going to be in a few minutes, so all I had to do was psych them.

There was a decent amount of distance between me and the 7 other people, so when I came upon the place where I came in with the others, I just jumped on the wall and scratched at the metallic flimsy rafters acting as a roof until I was able to squeeze through the hole. These idiots were...ouch!

A needle jabbed into my behind just as I jumped down to the other side. I looked back while continuing to keep running. There was a dart sticking out of my butt. Shit. I was hit.

That was my next problem, that and all the other frightened bystanders. Parents hugged their kids close while others did their best to stay out of my way. Though others, mostly stupid teens, tried to kick and throw things at me. Luckily the sedation still wasn't setting in and I was able to keep an iron grip on the animal's instincts and give a sharp snarl to intimidate the people to stop.

The poor non-controllers working the turnstiles shrieked in fear as a big cat squeezed its way through the metal bars while the ones I was sure were controllers looked at me with hate. I could've dropped laughing hysterically at their expressions but I had to get away from here fast. The security controllers were still chasing after me and I had to lose them some way or another.

And like a miracle, those security guards got stuck behind the turnstiles allowing me to escape. But I felt another sharp prick, this time on the back of my neck, as I ran away.

On my way out of the front gate, I saw Jake, Cassie Marco, and Tobias standing there, eyes focused on me as I escaped.

I kept running for a few minutes until I got to the outskirts of town near the beach. Once I was satisfied that I would be safe, I began to demorph. It was a mile or two outside of town which meant a long walk home for me, but at least no one was likely to see me. But the sedation was finally starting to take effect. Demorphing had done nothing to combat the effects.


	13. Chapter 12

"Creciste tan rápido, Hijo," my mom cried. Her tears were starting to make me want to cry too. I loved her so much and this day marked the last day I would ever be a child.

"Nunca dejaré de verte, mamá. Entonces no llores O me harás llorar," I consoled her with a hug.

"No, no puedes ir a tu fiesta de graduación de esa manera. Vamos, tienes que irte ahora. Mi futura nuera te está esperando," she laughed and winked at me.

She was right, I had to leave now. Melissa should already be waiting for me. Or perhaps she was still getting ready.

As I started to leave the house, my mom stopped me for another hug. If I knew what would happen next, I would have stayed. And maybe...Nah, that's too much of a spoiler. Heh. Let's go the long way around instead.

I arrived at Melissa's house—there was a moment of hesitation before I knocked. I waited for a few minutes before Rachel opened the door. She always looked gorgeous already, but now that she was Prom-ready, she was stunning.

"Looking good, Rachel. You sure you're going to Prom and not the President's soiree?" I teased with a laugh.

"Watch it, and keep your eyes away and on Melissa. Just not too close to her. I'll be watching," she punched me softly in the arm.

"Who are you going with to the prom?" I asked already dreading the answer.

Rachel actually had a boyfriend before all this craziness started happening with aliens and body snatching slugs. He was one of the worst people, but she always stayed with him. They usually had breakups but ended up together again after a short while, and that was what happened. So either she was going to Prom with him once again, or she was going with Tobias. I saw how she was around him a couple of days ago. She genuinely cared for him.

"I'm going with James," her face was void of emotion. I couldn't tell if she was happy or upset. So I had no clue how to continue.

"But, didn't you guys…?"

"Yeah, we broke up. But this is the last time we're going to be seeing each other," she said as she clutched her arm close to her biting her lower lip.

Now I could tell she was upset. She only ever bit her lower lip when something troubled her. She was wholly against any damage to her body and skin so that's saying something.

"We're best friends you know. When I first came here, you, Jake, and Marco were the only people who accepted me. You were the one to introduce Melissa to me. And you were the only one to make me feel welcome. So if you ever need anything. Just know that I'll be there. It's what friends do."

"Thanks, Daniel," she hugged me pushing her starched and styled hair into my face.

"Is it hug time already?" Melissa asked as she came down the stairs from her bedroom.

Rachel let go as I looked up to see my girlfriend. She was wearing a long velvet dress that seemed to be a dark red-purple. It appeared to be one piece and it covered her entire body in a tight hug that connected to a choke collar. Her hair ran straight but curled at the ends. She'd also curled her bangs to make them stand and bob with every movement of her head. Red lipstick and some blush made her eyes look as though they were shining orbs projecting headlights and pronounced her pale skin.

"You like what you see?" She asked as she put a hand on her hip and posed.

"I love what I see. You're smoking hot!" my comment made her chuckle.

"Shh, I don't want my mom to hear these comments of yours," she gave me a wide grin.

"Well, well. _Melissa!_ I would never have guessed that you went through an ugly duckling phase before now," Rachel teased her friend. "You're ready for the picking now. Just make sure that you just keep him in his pants," Rachel nudged me.

Melissa winked at me, "No Promises, Rache—"

"So how are you taking us to the Prom, Danny?" Rachel turned to me narrowing her eyes.

"Wait, us?" I asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Just because I'm going to prom with James doesn't mean that I want to spend the whole night with him. Especially not the beginning."

"I was taking Melissa walking because I thought it was just going to be the two of us and we're within walking distance," I could feel my cheeks heat up as I offered my explanation.

"You expect us to go walking? Have you ever been taught how to treat a girl? Especially when she has heels? This must be one of the stupidest things that you ha—"

Melissa interrupted the rest of her rant by wagging the keys to her dad's car.

"Luckily my Dad left his car. You can drive us over there," she tossed me the keys.

The drive over to the school was uneventful. Rachel and Melissa were just talking to each other excitedly as I concentrated on driving. It was a quick drive but the drive still made me nervous. Thanks to Melissa's dad being the principal we didn't have to worry about parking space. We just parked in his spot.

"Hey, Babe. Looking gorgeous," James came over as I brought the car into the parking space.

Rachel ignored him as she muttered under her breath, "I can't believe I lost my fucking virginity to your dick."

"And it was the best night in your life," he gave her a sly grin.

She glared daggers at him. At that same moment I put the car in reverse and slightly drove back until his face contorted in pain, then I parked and turned off the car. He was howling in pain now. Laughter accompanied him coming from Rachel and Melissa. I just gave a smug smile as I was content with the punishment I gave him.

"GET YOUR STUPID CAR OFF MY FOOT!" he yelled in pain.

He finally managed to pull his foot out of its predicament. But he was still squirming in pain and cussing.

"Come on Rachel, let's get out of here," he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the school.

"I'll see you guys later!" she called to us.

And just as they disappeared inside, I could see James flipping me off.

"Nice one, Danny," Melissa said as she continued laughing.

"Justice will always be served," I bowed as I locked the car.

Now it was our turn to walk into the building, hand in hand. I spotted Jake off against the wall in the gym dancing with Cassie as people blocked him out of view. The bleachers were folded up and had been turned into a makeshift bar. I doubt any alcohol would be selling though. I was half expecting a disco ball to be hanging from the ceiling but that was a no go.

She placed my hands on her hips to start dancing to the slow music playing as we got into the main area where everyone was dancing.

"What no disco ball?" I teased Melissa.

"This isn't the 70s," she laughed.

"But that's what's always used in prom on shows," I protested.

As we talked, we also danced. We matched each other's movements in a graceful manner. Each foot moved with each other. The dim lights outlined our shadowy movements. Step in step out. She was the leader and I was the mirror as our patterns were identical only deviating slightly in some cases but only to compliment our movements. I watched Melissa as each of her movements stretched her tight dress and shrank it back.

"There are also aliens, monsters, and whatnot. The closest things we get to movies are those bio-mechs terrorizing New York and Florida. This is the real world, Danny. You best get used to it. With me in it," she said as I dipped her.

Her comment would've made sense a week ago. But now I couldn't help but feel if I should tell her. She was so oblivious to everything right now. She didn't act like a controller and her father had hinted at Melissa not being infested. Maybe keeping her in the dark about this was more dangerous than letting her in on it.

"Is something wrong?" Melissa had a frown on her face. I guess my worry was leaking through into my face.

"No. Yeah. I'm completely fine. Let's just make this night be about you. You're the one who coordinated all this after all," I said as I leaned in for a kiss.

I stopped short leaving her with her eyes closed as I noticed Principal Chapman strolling around the room. He wasn't the only Teacher here, but he was the only controller I knew about. Mixed with him being my girlfriend's father, I couldn't take seeing him right now.

"How about we go get some privacy right now—" Melissa said as she saw who I was looking at. "There are many more ways we can dance. And I know which classrooms are unlocked right now," she winked at me.

"Mmm, I do like the way you think," I smiled at her, though my brain wasn't really matching my heart right now.


	14. Chapter 13

We were a mess.

Melissa's hair was a bit tangled and had some strands of hair going up wildly around. Her dress certainly won't be used after today either with some parts of it being ripped up by the stress the seams were put through. And her makeup wasn't any better.

I guess, I also looked the same with my clothes not being in the same condition as when I came in. My hair was a mess too. But it wasn't something that I couldn't fix with my hands.

We were heading back to the gym when I heard Jake's voice.

((GUYS. We found the entrance to the Yeerk Pool by accident and now Cassie's in trouble.)) The thought speak was faint, but it was uninterrupted. They must be somewhere in the school. But I couldn't do anything right now, I couldn't though speak and I couldn't think of an excuse to leave Melissa right now.

"I'm going to the restroom to fix myself up. I'll see you back in the gym," the god's must've been paying attention to what was going on.

I watched as Melissa turned the corner, then I checked all the classrooms until I found one unlocked. I placed a trash can to stop the door from closing when I began to morph.

The process felt a little bit faster. I guess the more you morphed, the easier it got.

((Where are you guys?)) I asked.

((There's a staircase…)) before I got to hear the rest, Rachel and James walked into the room.

It would've been a scene to behold. A Jaguar sitting on top of a nest of shredded clothes staring calmly at a girl and a boy. One of which was just about ready to piss their pants. One guess at who it was. Yep. It was James. The little shit was a coward. I just held my gaze with him as he began to tremble. Rachel was just staring at James too, calmly with a slight smirk forming on the corners of her lips. I just licked my chops to further freak James out. I don't think anyone would be able to stand a predator licking their lips after all.

"There's….a—there's a… Cheetah, in," and just like that, he dropped to the floor, face first. I waited a few seconds before proceeding to piss on his face. That woke him up and sent him barreling down the hall screaming like a madman.

((You know. I never understood why people often think Jaguars are Cheetahs. I mean, sure we're all the same colour. And our patterns look similar. But we are completely different animals. Cheetahs are smaller and are more built for speed. Jaguars, on the other hand, are much bigger and muscular. We can tear other animals to pieces and… What?)) Rachel was looking at me with a stern look.

"Jake? Remember?" she opened the door.

((Oh yeah, I forgot. Sorry.)) I apologized.

I trotted behind her as she leads the way. I didn't hear where Jake said they were, but I guess Rachel knew.

"Thanks for that though," Rachel smiled.

((No problem. I don't like James anyway. I'd think he's a controller were it not for him not jumping and shouting about Andalites the moment he saw me. So I guess he isn't the worst person.))

"Well. Bad person or not, he's a jerk. And I very much enjoyed him pissing his pants at seeing you on top of shredded clothes. I think that he thinks you murdered someone," she chuckled.

We stopped at the entrance to the janitor's closet next to Chapman's office. I noticed something strange was going on with the door as I sniffed around. There was a sour smell wafting out and I could feel a breeze coming from the crack on it. I pawed at the doorknob but my paws just slipped off. I looked at Rachel as I sat down and curled my tail around me.

((Uh, Rachel? A little help?))

"Oh yeah, sorry. I was just thinking." She jiggled the doorknob a bit before starting to ram into it.

((Thinking about what?))

"Well— We haven't exactly fought any yeerks." She hasn't, but Me, Jake, and the others have when we went to the zoo. But then again, those were just a few guards. Human, guards. So she had a point. "And I'm afraid that if we do fight them, things will get worse, and fast. We might lose our humanity. Like war vets do when they come back—" she let out a nervous laugh, "And I wanted to join the military. The irony in that."

This time I had no clue what to do to comfort her. I just sat in silence until she finally knocked the door off its hinges.

"How long do you have left in your morph?"

((About an hour and 47 minutes. I just morphed.)) I answered.

I followed the feeling of the breeze until I found its source. A small chute connecting to a slide. It must be where the Pool is. Underneath the school all this time. And we never thought to look for it here. Marco would be disappointed. But we wouldn't get to hear his remarks today as he didn't come to Prom. Poor dude.

((Found it, I'll go first.)) I rushed into the chute before Rachel could protest and started running down the thing. I'd slide down but my paws would just stick to the metal so I had to use my legs instead. It was surprisingly big enough to fit a huge running cat, so this must be one of the main entrances to fit any controller. Well, not the most obese, but there weren't any of those people in our town.

Once I reached the floor, I called for Rachel to come down. We were in a small room with a door letting in some light from somewhere. The only things separating us from the entrance were some weird looking detectors with strange symbols printed on it.

((Do you think that's a scanner for Andalites? Or morphing? Or maybe even both?)) I turned to Rachel.

"Maybe, I mean we don't even know what this thing even is. For all we know it could be an incinerator if the real detectors don't get what they want."

That was a _nice_ thought.

((Just to be sure…)) I started to demorph and I guess Rachel noticed cause she stopped me.

"Wait. You're going to be naked so. Uh—can you turn around?" I obeyed her request. There was some noise of struggle making me want to turn around, but I resisted the temptation to look at what was going on.

The lights suddenly went out and I started to panic. I stumbled around in the darkness trying to find a way to escape this eternal darkness. For the first time, my grip over the animal mind threatened to let loose. Then there was some laughter. I forced myself to stop and gather my bearings and I slowly noticed that the lights didn't go out, instead there was something covering my face. Now it made sense why Rachel was laughing instead of panicking.

"There—Now you can—you can. You can demorph." She was struggling to breathe over her laughter.

Now I began to demorph with her permission and I underwent the familiar ghost sensations and sounds of my body rearranging itself. Once I was human again, I put on what Rachel had given me.

I turned around once I was finished dressing up in the dark and instantly turned away. Panic washed over me as I realized what was going on. Behind me, she was standing without any clothes because I was wearing them. She'd given me her dress and now she was right there standing in the dark wearing nothing other than her underwear.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"You're—you're not wearing anything."

"What? I'm wearing a bra and some boy shorts. That's more than what I've worn at the beach!" she complained.

"That's different," I argued.

"Let's just, go on in," she sighed giving up.

"And really? A dress?" I asked as my cheeks heated up.

"Did you want to go on ass naked?"

"No, but. Ugh, this is so humiliating," we both went through the metal things and as we did they lit up in a strange colour that I've never really seen before. I can't even begin to describe it.

Rachel then began to morph on the other side and that's when I allowed myself to stare. Her skin turned from her pale pinkish colour to a greyish tone. White tusks protruded from her face in a disgusting _pop!_ It sounded like someone sucked a candy as they pulled it out of their mouth. Her ears became leathery and lengthened until they hung like earrings. A tail formed out of skin that was sticking out of her but and surprisingly her boyshorts changed along with her while her bra just popped off.

I was sure that I would have to turn away when that happened, but the morphing had thankfully already taken care of an awkward situation. Her changes were erratic and random but once they were done an 11-foot tall elephant with sharp tusks was standing in the middle of a proto cavern.

"You got an elephant morph?!" my surprise echoed in the immediate area snagging the attention of a few controllers.

"Hey, you there! What are y— Andalite!" they screamed as they noticed Rachel.

Fuck. And they've seen me. Too late now. I grabbed one of the metal poles supporting a small plaster wall and used it to knock down a few controllers.

It must've looked ridiculous to see a boy wearing a prom dress while fighting a bunch of people with a long metal pole.

Some of the controllers finally got their acts together and pulled out their dracon beams though. I dodged several plasmablasts but some found their way towards Rachel. She roared in pain and trumpeted her trunk as she barreled into the controllers. I could see that the plasma bursts hadn't really done that much damage to Rachel, just some severe burns. Considering what I saw those things do to a metal fence, I considered her as lucky.

((Come on. I know where Jake is.)) Rachel rushed down the opening with me behind her.

"What? How!?"

((While you've practised your morphing. We've been practising our thought-speak.)) she explained.

"Don't you need to morph to practice thought speak?"

I then caught a glimpse of Jake ahead of us and Cassie. Jake was busy talking to a Controller while Cassie was at the edge of a pier struggling against several Policemen. I let Rachel take care of the situation with Jake while I ran down to help Cassie. Before the Controllers even knew what was happening, I had them out cold on the floor.

"Thanks," Cassie sighed.

A moment later the controller bothering Jake sailed over us and splashed into the murky water.

"Is that?"

"Yeah, that is the Yeerk Pool," Cassie's gaze was different than mine, for one, there wasn't any disgust over the slugs swimming around in the water. And another thing was her surprise at what I was wearing. "Isn't that?"

"Yeah, it's Rachel's dress, I'll tell you later. Have you seen Tobias?" at that moment a hawk flew by screeching carrying some keys in his talons.

((Yeah, I'm here Danny.)) he replied.

He dropped the keys into one of the cages filled with prisoners. A short while later the cavern was filled with screams and cries as people tried to escape through a different tunnel from which we came through. There were also beams of plasma that radiated light in the dim cave. These weren't like the dracon beams. They were near continuous.

"It would've been helpful to have Elfangor here," I said.

I turned to Cassie and saw that she was frozen. She was petrified. All the horror of people being killed and turned to dust by the plasma was too much for her I guess. I pulled her with me as I struggled to fight off the dizziness caused by all the movement and flashes of light. There was a tiger in the fray, it had to be Jake. It was his favourite animal.

I was about to shout out his name when I noticed that Tom was with him. That was one of the Sub-Vissers.

"Cassie, you have to morph. Morph into a wolf and get out of here," I shook her.

She finally nodded and I let go of her as I saw her changes start. People pushed and shoved past us and since her feet had started to become the wolf's, she lost her balance and fell over.

So far, the only aliens down here were the slugs in the pool. But since the riot was starting to get out of hand, the need for actual aliens grew necessary, I guess.

A large creature covered in blades from head to toe emerged from the stairway. Some people still managed to push past it but not without suffering some injuries. Another one similar to it but with a bulky head instead of a snakes came out near us. Many others also came out around us, each looking different from one another. They began to scoop as many people up and made their ways to cages to lock them up.

I'm not sure how many people were in here in the first place, but I was sure that there were several hundred. And not all of them had been released so that shrank the ones who escaped down to around a hundred or two. And these things were capturing them again.

((NO!)) Jakes scream echoed in my head. I looked up to see the tiger roar at the alien that had his brother in its bladed arms.

Cassie now fully morphed launched herself up to the alien and mauled one of its arms. Blood was seeping from her from where the blade jabbed itself in, but the alien just threw her off into Jake and I watched as the crowd swept them away.

Now full of anger myself, I jumped at one of the aliens that Rachel was attacking but after a brief struggle, I was launched myself into the Yeerk pool.

((Daniel! Cover your ears!)) Rachel ordered as I sank into the murky depths.

I remembered the conversation Visser 6 had with Chapman. Cats aren't able to be infested. And with that, I began to morph. I felt the dress be pulled off me by the slugs as they tried to force themselves past my hands which were covering my ears. The last things to change were my hands thankfully, so when they turned into paws, the Yeerks weren't able to squeeze into their desired area. But they still wouldn't let go. I sank to the bottom as they pushed against me towards the floor.

I clawed and sank my teeth into their bodies as the sour water rushed into my jaws. I was finally able to push past them into a tiny space where there was a pocket of air, but I couldn't reach the surface.

((Tobias?! Rachel!?)) I called.

((Yeah?)) Tobias was the one to reply.

((I can't get out of here. I'm trapped underneath the pool.)) I said panicking. ((Are they? Are they safe? Are they gone? Why isn't Rachel replying? Did she come out of morph?))

((No. She's safe. She escaped along with Cassie and Jake. I'm hiding in the rafters. The Hork-Bajir are scanning the area. We can't do anything right now. They closed the exit.)) He informed me solemnly.

((This was supposed to be a happy night. We graduated. We went to prom. It wasn't supposed to turn into this nightmare. What would Melissa say if I died? We're trapped here.)) If cats could cry, that's what I would be doing right now.

((I know.)) Was all that Tobias said.


	15. Chapter 14

The cold wind of the night swept against my wet fur. I shivered as my heat did nothing to keep the cold at bay. Above me, Tobias flew past flapping his wings heavily against the cold night. No thermals meant that he had to work hard for his flight now. I had no clue how late it was. The only sign that gave any hints was the fact that it was dark now and the moon was at its peak. I would give anything to be in my bed again right now. But that wouldn't be possible tonight.

My tail was curved into my legs as I tried to keep it out of reach of anything that could pull it. As a kitten, I was vulnerable. An owl could just swoop down and snatch me from where I was and I would be its next meal and there wouldn't be anything I could do to stop it. Such a morbid thought.

And even if Tobias could fly correctly, he wouldn't be of much help either. A hawk versus an owl right now would be like pitting a Chihuahua against a Rottweiler. Nevertheless, Tobias refused to leave me to my lonesome and insisted on flying beside me.

The sounds of the even in the Yeerk Pool were haunting me right now. But I wouldn't let them weigh me down. I would use them as kindle to my fire if I had to.

The walk was a long one, but I finally arrived to where I was trying to get to. As a human it would have taken a few minutes of walking, but I wasn't human anymore. And I never would be again. I was just a nothlit. A human trapped in morph because he couldn't get out of something in time. But I wasn't alone, unfortunately. Tobias also suffered the same fate. We both shared something now at least. But he got the luck of the draw. His new body was free to do what he pleased. I was tethered to the ground forever now. Even with my fear of heights, I would've chosen to be trapped in the body of a bird of prey instead of a mewling sad sack of a kitten.

((Are you sure you want to stay here?)) Tobias asked as he perched himself on a lamp post.

((Maybe. I'm not even sure if I'll even stay here. And a bit of a warning. The others might start to wonder what happened to me. No matter how much they ask, don't tell them what happened to me. Please.)) I pleaded with him.

Without a word and just the hint of a nod, he flew off. I'm not sure where he went to. Maybe he went off to tell the others of what happened to him, or maybe he would go off into the woods for the night.

I myself was here in front of Melissa's house. Debating on whether or not to violate the most important rule. Whatever my decision would be, it wouldn't change a thing about what happened today.


	16. Preview and Changelog

"Whoa, that was a close one," I muttered under my breath. I pulled out the dracon beam Elfangor had given me and aimed it at the motorcyclist behind me. The road singed black as the tires of the vehicle popped and caused him to swerve out of control into the other controllers.

We weren't even out of the city yet, and there was already an army of controllers on our tail. The truck didn't even contain important information!

There was a sudden yowl as a cat jumped out of a tree and scratched up another motorcyclist's face.

If that was who I thought it was, then he was better late than never.

Jake slammed the gas pedal as a cop car joined in the chase. Great. Now cop controllers were on to us. Was there anything else that wanted us? No? Where were Cassie and the others anyway? It was just Jake and me on the pickup truck against this swarm. They better have a great excuse for not being here.

I tossed the dracon beam to the side. It would be a while until it recharged. Until then I'd have to settle on being Donkey Kong and throw whatever I had at my hand here in the back.

Metal wrench, hammer, spare tire, tarps. Anything and everything back here was thrown into the fray as I tried my best to avoid being shot. Good thing that they were just normal metal bullets instead of futuristic lasers that could incinerate me at a moment's notice.

But I ran out of stuff very soon. And there were still at least a dozen Controllers following us.

 _Vroom!_ The rev of an engine perked my hopes.

I swept the long blonde hair that was being blown by the wind into the front of my face and saw a sports car in the distance zooming into view. A smile crept onto my face as I noticed that there was a second sports car. It had to be Marco…

 **A/N: Hello everyone. Thank you for sticking with me for at least 3 months at the time of completion for the first book in my series. I'm hoping in releasing the next book during the summer but I'm not sure if I can. Summer school has been lengthened for me so… But it will come out. I still have yet to decide if I want to do daily, or weekly chapters, or just wait and release it all at once. Maybe you guys can decide for me.**

 **For now, Please make sure to like and subscribe. The kuddos button is on the bottom and the subscription button is on the top. Please review as well and tell me if I did a great job, or if there is any way for me to improve. Don't be shy. And thank you all!**

 **Book 2 Road Trip**

No one has seen Daniel in a while. Tobias has been distant but is still seen around. It's only been 2 weeks since they ventured into the Yeerk Pool, but they already have another mission. Rachel submitted an application for the military a few months ago and just remembered. For some reason the letters hadn't even been shipped until now. Now they have to get it back before the Yeerks get a hold of those papers.

 **Changelogs**

 _April 7, 2018-_

Fixed some punctuation errors from chapters 1 and 2.

Junior to Senior.

 _May 31, 2018-_

Chapman now has something more to say to Daniel in Chapter 7

Final Updates. Chapters 12-14 + Changelog and Preview.

 _ **Morphs**_

 **Jake**

Peregrine Falcon (Walker)

Tiger

Granite Spiny Lizard

 **Marco**

Hyena (Walker)

Big Jim

Silverback Gorilla

 **Rachel**

Bald Eagle (Walker)

African Elephant

 **Cassie**

Wolf (Walker)

 **Tobias**

Cougar (Walker)

Dude (Ragdoll Cat)

Redtail hawk

 **Daniel**

Cheetah (Walker)

Orange Tabby Cat (Russet)

Andalite (Elfangor)

Jaguar


End file.
